


The Sunset

by Stella523



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AkuRoku Day, Happy 813!, It made us all cry, Light Angst, M/M, Rewrite of that one scene, Roxas fading away, You know the scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:26:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7761388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stella523/pseuds/Stella523
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Man I miss the old times—still got it memorized? The day we met and you got your new name, you and I sat right here and watched the sunset."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution for Akuroku day! Gratuitous rewrite of that really sad scene from the 2.5 Final Mix because I can't do art, but I can write.

“Look who’s finally awake.”

Roxas looked up from where he sat on the clock tower, staring out over Twilight Town, and gasped lightly. “Axel…”

“Or maybe I have it wrong; might be time to sleep. Soon we won’t be able to talk like this anymore.” Roxas looked back down. He’d felt overwhelmingly alone a few minutes before, but now Axel was here. It was fitting, really. He’d always managed to show up at Roxas’ lowest points, when he’d felt the loneliest. Axel was always there. Roxas took a breath, voicing his thoughts in the form of a question he already knew the answer to.

“Does that mean… it’s time for me to go back to where I belong?” Axel felt a tugging in his gut. It was a subtle reminder of the thing that’d been gnawing at him for a while now. He sat down and glanced over at Roxas.

“Ya know, I’ve been thinking about something Namine said. Roxas, are you really sure that you don’t have a heart?” Roxas’ felt his breath catch in his throat. “Is it possible that we all have one? You, me, her… or is that just wishful thinking?”

Of course he had to do this now. What better time than when he was about to go away, probably for good? The implications were too much for him to handle, so Roxas just kept staring ahead.

“I dunno. I can’t just look inside,” he said noncommittally.

Axel pulled his eyes away, unsatisfied with the answer. But he wasn’t going to push it. Not right now. “Y-yeah, I guess not.” That tugging was stronger now. He told himself it was normal, told himself it didn’t mean anything.

“But I figure if there is something in there—inside us—then we’d feel it, wouldn’t we?” Roxas continued, sensing Axel retreating a bit. “And if so- no, never mind,” he sighed. He didn’t want a ‘what if’ scenario, didn’t want to have one of those ‘what could’ve been’ moments. The thought hurt too much (though Roxas wouldn’t see it that way—too many implications).

“Come on, don’t leave me hangin’,” Axel said, trying not to sound anxious.

“Sora will find the answer we’re lookin’ for. I know he will. Because, he’s me,” Roxas said hopefully.

Axel just scoffed. “True enough.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, thinking about the future. Roxas worried about what would happen to him, once he found Sora.

Axel worried about what would happen to him, once Roxas was gone.

(If Roxas was honest, he thought about the same thing.)

Suddenly, Axel pulled out two ice cream cones, a small grin on his face, and extended one towards Roxas.

He looked over and smiled. “Thanks,” Roxas said, reaching for the cone. Their fingers brushed lightly as he grabbed it, and Roxas felt a fluttering in his chest. He pretended he didn’t.

(If Axel was honest, he felt the same thing. Except he didn’t want to pretend.)

“Man I miss the old times—still got it memorized? The day we met and you got your new name, you and I sat right here and watched the sunset,” he said, moving imperceptibly closer. Maybe he could pull something out of Roxas if he talked about the past. It’s not like they had much left in terms of a future, anyways.

“Yeah. This place is home. Me, Hayner, Pence, Olette… we’ve shared a lot of adventures,” Roxas said wistfully.

Axel looked over at him, a glimmer in his eyes. “That’s called ‘sentimental’,” he half-smiled.

“What?” Roxas asked, glancing at him in confusion.

“That thing you were feeling there.”

Roxas scoffed and looked down. “Right. ‘Feeling.’” He gripped the edge of the tower next to him, his fingers digging in as he contemplated the idea.

Axel glanced out at the town below them. He reached over and laid his hand on top of Roxas’, implications be damned. They were running on borrowed time.

Roxas felt his breath catch again as he looked down at their hands. Even through the gloves, Axel’s touch felt electric. Or better yet, like fire, spreading from his fingers through his veins and into the place where his heart should be. It frightened him.

Almost like his body was moving on its own, he turned his hand over and laced their fingers together.

Axel shut his eyes, reveling in the bittersweet moment. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.

He squeezed Roxas’ hand lightly.

He heard Roxas sigh next to him after a few seconds. “I wish…” he trailed off, his voice faltering. Axel waited patiently, watching his ice cream melt slowly in his other hand.

He swallowed and tried again. “I wish I had a heart. I think… I think I could love you.” Roxas turned to look at him, but Axel just kept staring down. He smiled sadly.

“I know what you mean,” he said, finally meeting Roxas’ eyes. Silence fell over them, their ice creams long forgotten. Roxas glanced down at Axel’s lips, overcome with the severity of what was to come. Heart or not, he felt an unexplainable _longing._

He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t. But then Axel was leaning in, closer and closer, until their noses were almost touching, and Roxas was breathing him in like it was his last chance.

(Never mind that it was.)

“Tell me to stop,” Axel all but whispered, giving him a way out if he wanted it.

He should. He really should. But in that moment, Roxas was shaking his head, bringing his hand up to grasp the back of Axel’s neck and closing the gap between them.

Axel’s lips moved slowly and gently, like he was afraid Roxas might disappear if he wasn’t careful. Roxas moved his hand from Axel’s neck to cup his cheek, wishing the moment didn’t have to end.

After a few seconds, Axel forced himself to pull back, lingering close. Roxas sighed and looked away. He didn’t want to do this next part, but he knew they had no choice.

“I should go. Sora’s waitin’ for me,” Roxas said, trying not to sound as pained as he ~~felt~~ was.

Axel bit his lip. “Yeah I suppose he is. Man this is some good ice cream, huh?” he said ironically, watching the sun dip low in the sky as the last of it dripped down onto the pavement below. He felt tears forming in his eyes. Axel looked back at Roxas, who now had a bright glow surrounding him. Like the sun, he was fading away.

“Take care, okay?” Roxas said earnestly, reaching out and squeezing Axel’s hand one last time. He could barely feel it as he smiled mournfully.

“Right back at ya buddy,” Axel said. A stray tear fell down his cheek, and in a swirl of bright lights, Roxas was gone.


End file.
